It is becoming more critical for high speed memory to be tested at actual application frequencies, or as close as the automated test equipment can facilitate. The challenge is that most automated test equipment in use, particularly the lower cost testers, cannot provide a high enough clock speed to test such memories. Such testers top out at about two hundred megahertz, which is not sufficient to properly run the needed tests. A higher speed solution is needed to perform the desired tests.
One solution is to purchase new testers that can support test frequencies well beyond the current speed limitations. However, the enormous capital expenditure that would be required for this solution is not practical for most manufacturers.
What is needed, therefore, is a system that overcomes problems such as those described above, at least in part.